


Son Of A Preacher Man / Snapshot "Rescue"

by millionstar



Category: Muse (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 12:17:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4348493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/millionstar/pseuds/millionstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Matthew plays the hero in the midst of a crisis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Son Of A Preacher Man / Snapshot "Rescue"

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had these two on my mind for a while now. The idea for this came to me literally on the ride home tonight and I decided to put it down. If you choose to read and revisit this pairing, thank you, so much. I hope you enjoy, and I really do appreciate it.

**Title:** Son Of A Preacher Man / Snapshot "Rescue"  
 **Author** : [](http://millionstar.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://millionstar.livejournal.com/)**millionstar**  
 **Pairing** : Matthew/Dominic  
 **Rating** : PG  
 **Here there be:** Fluff, language.  
 **Summary:** In which Matthew plays the hero in the midst of a crisis.  
 **Author’s Note** : I’ve had these two on my mind for a while now. The idea for this came to me literally on the ride home tonight and I decided to put it down. If you choose to read and revisit this pairing, thank you, so much. I hope you enjoy, and I really do appreciate it.

  
Matthew was in the process of taking monthly inventory at Bellamy’s when his phone rang. When he saw who was calling, the corners of his lips turned upward of their own volition. He put up one finger in apology to Annie, who merely nodded as she continued taking stock, and answered the call.

“Helloooo, sexy,” he purred in a deep, comical voice, fully expecting Dominic’s laughter to ring pleasantly in his ear. Dominic’s voice, however, was laced with panic and worry; Matthew’s mouth went dry at the sound of it.

“Matty. Matty, it’s an emergency, can y’come?”

Matthew dropped his clipboard and patted his jeans pocket, ensuring that Stella’s keys were indeed right at hand, which they were. “Dom? What’s happened?”

“I’m out at daddy’s, hurry. Just get here.”

Matthew sprang to action, giving Annie a quick explanation, as well as his apologies, as he dashed out the door. Stella, now owner of a brand new transmission thanks to Matthew’s recent promotion at Bellamy’s, fired up immediately, her driver tearing down Main Street at breakneck speed en route to Gabriel Howard’s place.

Six minutes later, Matthew pulled into the drive, tires crunching in the gravel, dirt kicking up as he slammed on the brakes. Gabriel’s car was nowhere to be found; Dominic’s truck, however, was parked in front of the house. Matthew exited the car, a list of possibilities coming to life in his mind. Was Gabriel sick or hurt? Was Kevin? Was Dominic??

“Dom?” he called out.

“In the back! Hurry!” Dominic replied.

Matthew ran around the large house, silently cursing the fact that he was wearing such tight blue jeans. He winced, the denim chafing his thighs with every step he took. He jumped over Kevin’s bike, which had been left lying haphazardly in the yard, and found himself in the backyard.

“Oh, thank fuck,” Dominic said nervously, running to Matthew to pull him into a hug. He was still dressed in his forestry service uniform as though he’d just come from work. “I don’t know what t’do.”

Matthew pulled back, smoothing Dominic’s hair from his brow, and studied his partner, eyes scanning his face and body as though he were checking for injury. “What’s happening? Is something wrong, is someone hurt?”

Dominic’s eyes were wide. His lower lip trembled.

Matthew braced himself for the worst.

“It’s up there,” Dominic whispered, pointing to the large oak tree they were under. “I can’t reach it!”

Matthew found himself looking up, and for a moment he struggled to see anything at all, but just then a sound came to him, soft and sweet.

A sound he was able to identify instantly.

It was the gentle mewling of the small, black kitten that he was staring at, perched on a branch near the top of the tree. His mouth dropped open in surprise. “Ohhh.”

Dominic began speaking so quickly that Matthew had to really concentrate to be able to understand him. “I know, right? I came by t’drop off a couple of books fer daddy and I heard it cryin’ and I got the ladder out of the barn but it ain’t rightly tall enough t’reach up there and so I called daddy but he’s got Kev over in Dalton doin’ some shoppin’ and then it just kept on cryin’ and I mean, where’s it’s mama, Matty and I couldn’t leave it up there, not even long enough t’come get ya. We gotta get it down!”

Matthew stared at Dominic and burst out laughing. “So… _this_ is yer emergency? A kitten up a tree?” His heart swelled to near bursting with love for Dominic, for his sweet and kind nature - and for the fact that he could be so very affected by a stray kitten stuck in a tree.

Dominic crossed his arms with a singularly mighty pout.

“No, no, Dom, don’t be mad,” Matthew pulled him into a hug, “I’m glad y’called me. Let’s see, how tall’s that ladder?”

“It ain’t tall enough t’reach. I tried already.”

But Matthew had already shimmied up the ladder and, right before Dominic’s eyes, reached out, jumping from the ladder to the closest strong branch.

“MATTY!” Dominic yelled, breathing a deep sigh of relief when Matthew pulled himself up easily onto the branch. “So help me, if y’fall out of that tree and break somethin’ I’ll kick that fine ass, y’hear me? Just cos I own it don’t mean I won’t spank it if I have to!” he shouted.

 _It's a damn fine view, though_ , he thought, admiring Matthew’s backside as he continued to climb.

Matthew laughed, now climbing the tree with a dexterity that left Dominic in awe. “Been climbin’ trees my whole life, Dom, I know what I’m doin’. Quit fussin’!” He ascended the limbs so rapidly that Dominic could only watch in awe. Dominic had climbed a few trees in his life, but he wasn’t a big fan of heights, so Matthew’s display was, to him, especially impressive.

“What’ll y’do when y’get up there?” he called out, nervous. “How can y’climb down with the kitten in yer hand?”

But Matthew was one step ahead of Dominic. He’d reached the branch just below the kitten, reaching up and pulling the kitten to his chest. With one hand he carefully unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt and deposited the kitten inside.

“Now y’stay still in there, y’hear me?” he cautioned softly, buttoning up his shirt so that only the kitten’s head was left poking out the top. He caressed the kitten’s fur with his thumb. “And, no peein’!”

In response, it licked his thumb and meowed. Matthew grinned. “Okay. Here we go.”

The kitten seemed to realize that it was in it’s best interest to keep still and quiet while Matthew carefully descended the tree branches. He took his time coming down, Dominic simply gaping as he watched the entire situation transpire before his eyes. In what seemed like no time, Matthew was backing down the ladder as Dominic held it steady until he safely dismounted it.

“There!” Matthew said proudly, carefully extracting the kitten from his shirt. Dominic was still staring at him. “What?”

“That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m _so_ hot right now, blue eyes.”

Matthew punched his shouder, flushing at Dominic’s comment. He gently handed the kitten to Dominic.

“Y’reckon we could take it home?” Dominic asked, cuddling the kitten to his chest. It stared at him, using it’s paw to pat his chin gently, Dominic giggling. “Aww, would y’just look at this cute little shit.”

“Well, sure. I reckon we could,” Matthew answered, amused. “Although, I thought _I_ was yer cute little shit.”

Dominic rolled his eyes, pecking Matthew on the cheek. “Silly blue eyes.”

They heard it at the same time, both of them turning around. There, at the edge of the woods, just a few feet away, a grown cat was strolling their way, two little ones, the size of the one in Dominic’s arms, trailing behind her. Matthew bit his lip, glancing at Dominic.

“Well, maybe not.”

Dominic’s face fell. “Ohhhh.”

He knelt, putting the tiny kitten down in the grass, but not before dropping a kiss to the top of its head. All he and Matthew could do was watch as it ran to its mother and nuzzled her, then jumped at one of the other kittens, all three of them wrestling with each other playfully. The mother cat made herself comfortable in the grass, content to watch as her little ones played.

“Well, damn,” Dominic said softly, Matthew reaching for his hand. “Y’reckon they’ll be okay? Think they belong t’someone? Are they strays?”

“Tell y’what. How about we fix a bed for ‘em in yer daddy’s barn, and put some milk out. That way if they _are_ strays, at least they’ll have a place they can rely on for some shelter. And if they ain’t, well, they can come visit yer daddy for a free meal now and then? Reckon he’d mind?”

“Nah, daddy loves animals, he won’t mind at all! I’ll give him a call and let him know.”

It didn’t take them long- and with an empty cardboard box, lined with an old blanket made such a great cat bed that it’s new owners were taking it for a test run nearly instantly. Dominic and Matthew came back to the barn with a saucer of milk, only to find the mother and kittens curled up in the box nearly asleep - it had been a perfect fit.

“Would y'look at that,” Matthew sighed. “So cute.” Dominic placed the milk down next to the box and looked up just in time to see Matthew put one hand to his chest and frown.

“What is it?”

Matthew looked inside his shirt. “Huh. Little shit scratched my nipple.”

“What!? Oh, _hell,_ no!”

“It’s okay, it’s not too bad.”

Dominic pulled Matthew close. “Yeah? Y’sure about that?” he asked, unbuttoning Matthew’s shirt. “How about we go up in the barn loft and I’ll give ya a good, thorough, nipple inspection?”

Matthew wanted to groan at Dominic’s joke, but a high-pitched giggle escaped his mouth instead because Dominic was now kissing his neck and it tickled. “Nipple inspection, yeah?”

“Yep.”

Matthew raised one eyebrow. “How long till yer daddy gets home, y’reckon?”

“Couple hours at least. Y’gotta get back to the store right away?”

“Not just yet. Besides, this is an emergency,” Matthew breathed, both of them smiling into a kiss.


End file.
